10-year-old prankster offers woman Dh10 bribe to stay mum

DUBAI An Emirates Living resident was left flabbergasted last week when a ten-year-old old child offered her a Dh10 bribe to not report his ding dong ditching to his parents.

Ding dong ditching, also known as ‘ringing and running’, ‘knock a door and run’, or ‘knock knock gingerbread’ is a harmless, though irritating neighborhood prank usually played by young boys and teenagers. It involves ringing someone’s doorbell and running away before getting caught. Briton Manal Mesmar, who had been putting up with the nuisance for the past two months, said when she chased and caught a group of three children who were behind the prank and threatened to call their parents, the youngest pulled a tenner from his pocket and offered it to her as bribe

“He was no older than 10 years. I was stunned. I told him to put the money back in his pocket and confronted him. But he remained unfazed and insisted that I take the money and not report the incident to his parents,” Mesmar recalled. “The boys had scant regard for me, In fact one of them, abused me and asked me to shut up,” said the woman.

Canadian Anita Punyani who lives a few blocks away said ding dong ditching has become an epidemic in the neighbourhood.

“It’s not fun any more. Last Friday, these kids kept ringing my door bell every few minute.

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